It wasn’t too long ago that Oakland, not the North Side, was the focal point for sports in our town. Fans flocked to Forbes Field to see some big-time college football and to root on the Pirates and the Steelers. Just a few blocks away stood Pitt Stadium, where the Pitt Panthers won their share of national collegiate football championships.

Before and after those games, fans would talk sports in the many bars and restaurants along Forbes Avenue and on the many side streets adjacent to it. With the closing of Pitt Stadium the era of big-time football in Oakland has come to an end. But just as it was after the closing the Forbes Field, Oakland remains and will remain one of Pittsburgh’s most vibrant, electric and eclectic communities.

Oakland has gone through many changes in the past century, but one constant has been the intellectual, cultural and social foundation provided by institutions like the Carnegie Museums, the University of Pittsburgh, its medical center and Carnegie Mellon University. Year after year, these institutions, along with institutions like Carlow and Chatham colleges and the other hospitals and medical centers, have brought new people and new ideas into Oakland. Few cities, if any, can boast of the intellectual might and vitality created by these institutions.

People still gather in those bars and restaurants along Forbes Avenue, but now they talk about subjects like high-tech start-ups and venture capital, organ transplant research and the quality of health care, e-commerce and Pittsburgh’s role in the technological future.

Oakland is an exciting place to be, but it could be a whole lot more. For Pittsburgh to reclaim its place as an economic engine among America’s leading cities, Oakland must become the center around which our region’s new technology economy revolves.

The small start-up companies hunkered down along Craig Street represent the first steps in the development of a robust technology-oriented economy in our region. But in order for our vision for the future to take flight we need to follow up these first steps with a game plan, a design for the growth and development of Oakland.

We must provide the resources, the facilities and the infrastructure that will foster successful technology-oriented businesses. State, county and city officials need to work with the leaders of Oakland’s institutions and its community leaders to build consensus on a blueprint for the future, one that is focused on making Oakland ground zero for the new Pittsburgh economy.

A thriving technology sector requires a robust combination of technological know-how, people, venture capital and facilities. The research universities in Oakland represent a world-class source of the technological innovation and the technical and managerial people new companies require. Through the coordinated efforts of many organizations in Pittsburgh, the region now has much more venture capital than it did just two years ago. The one remaining component we need to build a thriving technology community in Oakland is the infrastructure. We must focus on providing the facilities start-up companies need and existing companies consider when they look at Pittsburgh as a possible location.

These facilities would enable fledgling companies to rent space at low cost while retaining close ties to the intellectual capital on nearby campuses. They would give established companies connections to new research ideas and potential new employees. Just as important, they would symbolize Oakland’s and Pittsburgh’s commitment to pursuing a leading role in the technology business of the future.

Along with this investment in technology business must be a commitment to leveraging the rich cultural environment in Oakland. The Carnegie Museum anchors an exciting and stimulating cultural and educational community. This is a huge asset we need to promote and embellish. It is my hope that the upcoming opening of Carnegie Mellon’s new Purnell Center for the Arts and the Regina G. Miller Art Gallery will add another dimension to the already abundant cultural landscape.

Alongside these new venues should be new stores, shops and restaurants that rival those you can find along University Avenue in Palo Alto, Calif. These amenities will become increasingly important to a highly paid technology work force with the freedom to work and play wherever they choose.

Just as Oakland was the mecca for big-time sports in the past, it can be the mecca for big-time economic progress in the future. We’ve got all of the ingredients and we’re headed in the right direction. But the next step is more difficult. It will require vision, a shared sense of purpose and the financial and human resources that are building blocks of future greatness for Oakland, Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania.